A Congress worker was hacked to death on Tuesday in Alappuzha district of Kerala, following which a few people belonging to a left organisation have been detained, a senior police official said.
"Victim Sunil Kumar was asleep at his home near Cheppad when he was called out by a group of people around 2 a. m. and hacked to death. We have taken into custody a few people, belonging to the youth wing of the CPI - M, " a top Alappuzha district police official, who did not wish to be identified, told IANS.
The Congress has called for a daylong shutdown in Cheppad in protest against the crime.
Sources said tension between Congress and CPI - M supporters in Cheppad area was brewing for the last one month. The murder was a likely fallout of political rivalry in the area.
State Congress president V. M. Sudheeran said the party worker had been brutally killed by the Communist Party of India - Marxist supporters.
"This gruesome incident is the latest example of the way the CPI - M is continuing its policy of killing its political adversaries. It is a shame that the CPI - M is engaging in such heinous acts. The need of the hour is for the people to come forward to oppose this policy of the CPI - M, " Sudheeran said in a press release here on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, police were looking for other suspects involved in the crime.